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Recently, a journalist for Wired magazine attempted to live a location-aware lifestyle. That means he tried to take advantage of the GPS capabilities of every electronic tool he could get his hands on, linking all his activities to his location and then transmitting that data to his network.

In 2000, this 15-year-old hacker brought down some of the most heavily visited websites on the net: Amazon, eBay, CNN, Yahoo!. At the time, reports claimed the hack caused a billion dollars’ worth of damage to these companies.

Is there anything more annoying that 100 people ahead of you in line when you are trying to purchase that perfect holiday gift? Well what about while you are in the midst of your harried purchase, being asked to pull out your driver’s licence so the retailer can record the number? Not only can this be annoying, but it might also be a violation of your personal privacy.

Yesterday, the CRTC rendered its decision on ISP’s traffic shaping practices. It announced that it was denying the Canadian Internet Service Providers’ (CAIP) request that Bell Canada, which provides wholesale ADSL services to smaller ISPs across the country, cease the traffic-shaping practices it has adopted for its wholesale customers.

Huddled under a blanket in the quiet of your computer room, aching from head to toe, you decide do a quick Google search for flu remedies or maybe read more on the where the next flu clinic will be held. Congratulations – with Google’s help, you’ve just volunteered for the public health early warning system.

The popularity of mobile computing is skyrocketing – from teenagers to business travelers, hand held devices such as Blackberrys, iPhones and smart phones allow users to surf their favourite sites, manage their relationships within a social network, review work documents or download music.